Wartrace

I have been sober for only three weeks but it seems like my life has become less stressful in that time period. I don't know how to explain it but nothing seems to bother me as much as it used to. I used to get upset about silly little things and now it seems to roll of me like water off a duck.

Is this part of the deal? Is it normal, maybe being less emotional? I have also noticed I have been making better decisions in my work, not panicking or worrying when I lose a little money or getting greedy for a few dollars more. I am much less emotional about the business.

I wish I had quit years ago.

tomvlll

YEs that happened to me as well.

Do you consider yourself an alcoholic?
If so, how exactly did you stop? How are you staying sober?

penny74

3 weeks... pretty good !! Congrats.
Your nervous system should have had a rest by now.
(Not to mention your liver)
l drank because l was nervous and a the after affects of alcohol made my nerves scream for more alcohol to make them calm ( vicious circle)
You seem to have passed that.
Keep it up !!

It's not what you eat, it's who you eat it with"

Wartrace

Oh, there is no doubt I am an alcoholic. I drank every night for the past twenty + years. My drink of choice was Vodka, usually I would drink seven to ten 1.5 shots of 100 proof every night.

How did I stop? I just stopped. For the past couple of years I started thinking how pathetic I was. I just decided to stop, it was getting to be painfully obvious I needed to.

How am I staying sober? I am not buying Vodka anymore when I go to town. I haven't even thought about stopping at the liquor store for some reason. I no longer have the urge to drink after realizing what it was doing to me. The positive effects of not drinking are convincing enough for me. No more night sweats, sleeping better, my ears are no longer red, no more hangovers, less emotional- more level headed & four or five extra productive hours every day.

NEOMARXIST

I agree. Life is much more simple, sometimes it is easy to crave certain elements of the craziness and madness in general that heavy binging brings but it is only a fleeting thought as I just remeber how I would feel midway through and after the binge when I am feeling the drink wear off and the anxiety/dissapointment and hopelessness set in... Typing that here has just reminded me why I remain sober and why I need to stay sober. Everything is so much easier and more straightforward and simple. Things have a habit of working themselves out as well in a strange kinda way...

Peace Out.

*Saturday night is always hard for me but I remind myself why I don't drink and I know I'm making the right choice in the long-run and that it is absolutely 100% for the best in every which way...

robbo78

Funny how people have different expeirences, i felt like so called normal when i was drinking, get in from work crack a beer open and sit and watch TV with a beer all night (having a few smokes) the crash out, get up and do go to work and do the same thing.

That was up until 45 days ago after deciding to pack it all up, sinse i have had all withdrawals, anxiety, headaches pains in arm and constant worries abou things that are wrong with me (blood tests kidney high, Liver High headaches, etc).

I new it was going to be a battle (brother is alcoholic & 4 years sober) but on many occassions i have thought about going back to what i think was normal.

Robbo

digderidoo

It is normal. I would say it's less emotions as for me there were more positive emotions coming to the fore.

Paul

Shygirl

Today is my first day again. I've had sober days this time around, but not with a mind set on to quit again. I get worse everytime.....I drink and drive, I work this way..It's just awful....I can go on and on about all the bad things I do.....But I'm just glad to be back. You all make me realize I too have hope............

Wartrace

I seem to have a more positive outlook & less self doubt in the past two of the three weeks since I stopped. I know it's too early to proclaim victory over my alcoholism but I am going to do my damndest to stay sober for the rest of my life.

digderidoo

It's not really proclaiming victory, just proclaim victory when you go to bed sober over that day and that day alone. The change in emotions and less stress is just more noticeable in the early days, in time that less stress becomes the norm and the positives takes over, well it did for me.

Paul

CarolD

Well done on your 3 weeks....

As alcohol is a depressant ...getting it out of my
brain gave me an immense surge of confidence
Ergo......I handled problems in a more positive way
thus easeing stress....

Good to know this is part of your experience!

smacked

Sobriety is better for most of us. It's supposed to be

Well done on the 3 weeks... be careful of complacency. My counselor used to tell me when I'd get overconfident in my sober abilities that there will come a time, where life literally brings me to my knees and will test every coping skill I have. So I had better learn some new ones, and be prepared for those life moments that used to be eased with a drink.

CarolD

Shygirl....
Welcome back I too had false starts before
I finally achieved my current sober time.

Keep in focus...keep trying

Midton

That could have been me writting that OP. I drank for 20+ years, I'm self-employed (used to worry about every little peny) and have just quit (day 23). I also have way less stress and anxiety, the little things just don't bother me as much. I laugh more and am nicer to be around, not that I was nasty just grumpy.

FBL

It's funny, I thought I was drinking all those years to REDUCE my stress, turns out it was CAUSING my stress! I'm now on Day 71 and feel more calm and productive than I have in years.

Wartrace

Midton & FormerBeerLover,

Isn't it a wonderful feeling to be free of alcohol & rediscovering what life is supposed to feel like? I stayed up late last night drinking.......ICE WATER. I was up until midnight working on some stuff & still managed to be up by 7:30am. It is amazing how much more productive time there is in a day.

Last night as I fell asleep I started thinking that I hadn't felt so good since I was a kid. I seem to have a sense of clarity I lost years ago.

Keep up the sobriety guys, lets see where it takes us!

Wolfchild

sfgirl

My life is infinitely less stressful. I attribute most of that to recovery work but you don't get that without putting down the booze. And just think of all the physical stress booze places on your body, I mean it is a vicious cycle of loading it up withdrawing loading it up again. Rough. Now I have mild flu symptoms and I am going to the doctor. Ha. They are probably 1/10 of what I felt every damn day waking up from drinking but they have been going on for one month and now I honor my body much more. And recovery work— setting boundaries, surrender, saying no, finding and listening to that inner voice, getting rid of all the fluff in my life. I didn't think my previous life was stressful but when I think back, my heart rate rises.

baldjim

well done to everyone who can manage to stop drinking

none of my friends can ... they have tried and failed ,my sister cant and neither can my son

i am amazed that i have ...really amazed ... i think by far its my greatest triumph ,my whole family for generations on my mothers and my fathers have all been drunks

i feel much better in everything

health is better

mental health is better

everything


i have so much more energy

its almost a miracle to be honest

keep it up everyone

and thanks to every one at SR without you guys i would have failed

sunrise1

Hey there, I certainly had a BIG drop in stress after I quit drinking. For me, life became much less complicated when I was no longer:
trying to figure out when I could drink next
trying to sneak drinks behind hubby's back
wondering if there was a bar where we were going to dinner
trying to order doubles without being obvious

etc... etc... all that stress is simply gone, leaving lots of clear mind space free to do other things.